Atari Delays Pre-Orders For Retrotastic Ataribox Gaming Console

Atari has been trickling out information on its Ataribox gaming console for the past year, and we thought that were getting closer to an official launch. After all, the company announced earlier this week that pre-orders for the Ataribox would launch today, December 14th. However, that pronouncement appears to have been too good to be true.

The gaming company announced this morning that the Indiegogo launch has been "officially paused". Interestingly, the company indicates via an emailed statement, "Because of one key element on our checklist, it is taking more time to create the platform and ecosystem the Atari community deserves. Building Ataribox is incredibly important to us and we will do whatever it takes to be sure it is worth the wait."

We don't know what could have popped up just a few days after the pre-order announcement that would cause the delay, but it is apparently a significant roadblock for the company. Atari adds, "An updated launch plan is underway and more detailed information will be available soon."

Nintendo helped to revive interest in retro-centric console with the NES Classic Edition, and further fueled interest with the follow-up SNES Classic Edition. Both consoles come preloaded with popular titles that were available during their respective reigns in the gaming world.

Atari is hoping for similar success with the Ataribox, which is powered by an AMD APU complete with Radeon graphics. The console will feature HDMI out, USB ports, an Ethernet port, Wi-Fi and an SD card slot. The console, which is expected to include classic games alongside newly-developed titles, is expected got retail for $250 to $300, which is a far cry from the $80 that Nintendo commands for the SNES Classic Edition.